Typically, a ballast provides power to a lamp and regulates the current and/or power provided to the lamp. Lamps, such as fluorescent lamps, use a ballast to provide the proper starting voltage for the lamp and to limit the operating current once the lamp is ignited. One type of fluorescent lamp that is commonly used is a T5 lamp, due to the compact size and high lumen efficacy provided by the T5 lamp and corresponding ballast. However, lamps such as the T5 lamp that have a relatively small diameter (approx. 1.25 inches) are particularly likely to react undesirably when approaching the end of their lives.
For example, during its end of life (EOL) stage, a T5 lamp's end caps may overheat due to a depletion of an emission mix in the filament and due to the small spacing between the cathode and lamp wall. When this occurs, the lamp's end cap and holder may exceed a design temperature limit and detrimentally affect the reliability of the lamp system. For instance, the conditions may cause the lamp to crack.